CARACAS: Venezuela rejected a formal protest lodged by Colombia over President Nicolas Maduro’s recent decree unilaterally claiming disputed territory in the Caribbean Sea and urged bilateral dialogue on the matter.
The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry issued a communiqué entitled “Venezuela rejects anti-Venezuelan campaigns being developed in Colombia” in which it claims that the neighbouring country is validating unspecified “media blackmail and lies” instead of bringing the matter to the Binational High Level Commission, or COBAN, created in 1990.
“Venezuela calls attention to the tenor of the declarations by the Colombian government, in which it makes a big racket and exaggerates the media blackmail and lies instead of valid diplomatic channels for dialogue required between neighbourly countries.”
“We agree … that (a meeting within the framework of) COBAN (is needed) to appropriately and effectively discuss issues of bilateral interest, resulting in good relations between the two countries,” the official Venezuelan text reads.
Colombian Foreign Minister Maria Angela Holguin delivered the formal protest note last Wednesday to Venezuela’s envoy in Bogota, Ivan Rincon Urdaneta, after having spoken earlier in the day about the matter with her Venezuelan counterpart, Delcy Rodriguez.
“They are areas that are in dispute. We have not had any litigation because we haven’t gone to any international court. We have done it bilaterally. There has been a presidential negotiating committee since 1990 that has been studying these areas,” she said.
The official document Holguin delivered asks Venezuela to “take the necessary measures to correct Decree No. 1787,” which had been issued last May 26 “creating and activating the Comprehensive Maritime and Insular Defense Operational Zones, which include maritime areas, the delimitation of which is pending with Colombia.”
Caracas intends the ocean area to be a military operation zone.
According to Colombia, the decree signed Maduro includes elements that “affect the interests and historic position of Colombia regarding the delimitation of maritime and undersea areas” with Venezuela and require “rectification.”
The Venezuelan communiqué emphasizes that Caracas “has complied with, is complying with and will comply with all international treaties validly signed by it, faithful to its tradition of absolute respect for Public International Law.”
